Fortis to open 140 Healthworlds

Fortis Healthworld, a Ranbaxy-promoted group, hopes to put healthy smiles on the faces of its northern region customers by opening up 140 more retail stores by the end of financial year 2007-08.

The company would be opening up its first "Healthworld" store in Chandigarh within three months. At present, it has 10 stores in Delhi and NCR region.

HealthWorld would be a customer centric one-stop shop for all health solutions open 24/7. The chain will stock prescription and over-the-counter drugs, both allopathic and ayurvedic, health foods, nutraceuticals, food supplements and even health books.

They will be equipped with telemedicine facilities and collection centres connected to SRL Ranbaxy, the group's chain of pathology labs.

Speaking to Business Standard, Fortis Healthworld CEO Aashish Kirpal Pandit said, "We would spend close to Rs 800 crore to establish 1,000 Fortis health stores across India in five years ie by 2012. So far the funding part is concerned it, it would be funded by Singh's family of Ranbaxy."

"By the end of 2007-08, we would establish 150 stores in northern region. Initially we would focus on northern region, thereafter we would go to other parts of the country. The pharmacies' geographic expansion outside the NCR will happen independently."

Three formats have been planned for the stores in 500 ft, 1,000 ft and 2,000 ft to make penetration into both metros and small cities feasible. All metros and tier-I and tier-II cities with a population over 3.5 lakh are being targeted for opening the stores, Pandit said.

The stores would be a mix of franchise and company owned. The pharmacies would be one-stop shops offering different systems of medicine, besides other services, he added.

The announcement comes at a time when Fortis is entering the capital market with an initial public offer (IPO) of 45,996,439 equity shares of Rs 10 each for cash at a premium to be decided through a 100 per cent book building process. The price band has been fixed between Rs 92 and Rs 110 per equity share.